UN International Women’s Day 2010

‘Celebrating the economic, political and social achievements

of women past, present and future’

A joint Universal Peace Federation and Women’s Federation for World Peace event to celebrate the UN’s International Women’s Day was held appropriately on the UK’s Mother’s Day.

Rita Payne, a former Editor of BBC Asia and currently the Chair of the Commonwealth Journalist’s Association – UK, reflected on the status of women in current developments and her own experience in the media in her speech, Women and Success – Is Hard Work Enough? ‘2010, on the face of it, is not a bad year for women’, she said, while pointing to Katherine Bigelow’s Oscar success on the eve of International Women’s Day and the passing of a Bill through the Indian Parliament to guarantee that 1/3rd of all MPs are women. She added, ‘That there were protests and seven MPs were banned from the Indian Parliament shows that the battle for stronger representation for women is far from over.’

She referred to the raft of reviews and statistics that have emerged around Women’s Day revealing, for example, that there are more female Medical Doctor applicants than male because women have been outranking men in academic achievement.

However, she said some observers felt that former campaigning visionaries are being let down by the abuse of freedom by the laddette culture.

‘Maybe the greatest success will be when men and women are judged according to what they achieve than their gender’, she concluded.

Her daughter suggested that, ‘Women can achieve many things but how can they do it without sacrificing the family. Perhaps women can be more creative in addressing those needs but we won’t be able to do this without the men. We can address our needs with the help of men. Why don’t we forget about Women’s day and have a Family day instead?’

In a speech entitled ‘Women Initiating Change: The Strength of the Outsider’, Kat Callo explained the tragic cause of her work as a Trustee of Project Mosaic. Her cousin, a New York City firefighter, died in 9/11 trying to save those within the twin towers when the buildings collapsed. She began Project Mosaic, a UK-based educational charity that helps teach young people to be more tolerant of those coming from a different background – whether that’s a different race, ethnicity, religion, nationality or culture.

Violent extremism … plays on the theme of “the outsider” – but it combines it with fear and ignorance, to creates a poisonous cocktail for our young people.

With a conversation, over a cup of tea or at a youth club or at a gathering of mothers at a refugee centre or talking with family members and friends. We are working to amplify the voice of the outsider – that person that takes a weakness and transforms it into a strength. (read more)

Hadia Saad had just returned from attending the 54th UN Congress on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York representing the Alulbayt Foundation in London. She also attended the UPF Parallel CSW event in New York. She shared about both experiences in a speech entitled, ‘Humanity Before Gender’. She said she was left with the sense that there is still a long way to go to obtain justice for women. She reflected on the position of women in Islam that tensions develop when the cultural traditions confine Islamic principles. (read more)

Mrs Ella Marks

Mrs. Ella Marks, the current President of the League of Jewish Women (LJW), briefly described its history and activities since being founded in 1943. Stemming from a Judaic ethos, Jewish people believe that they should play an active part in the community wherever they live. The LJW has sought to educate young women to be both self supporting and train them to be active for the good of all society. The LJW is now affiliated to the National Council of Women as a consultative body. It is also very involved in interfaith meetings and activities. The LJW is a largely voluntary body that is an active community promoting service to those in need. She shared that she often reads to blind people.

Milena Ivovic commenting about the afternoon commented below, ‘It was very inspirational gathering. Women, outstanding achievers in various fields, were illustrating by their own life endeavours the greatness of human potential in each one of us. They are those who selflessly care for others in society and who know how to give from the essence. Their love and compassion certainly shed light and show the way.’

Rita Payne

Women and Success – Is Hard Work Enough?

HIGHS

On the face of it 2010 hasn’t been bad for women so far. Kathryn Bigelow’s triumph at the Oscars, as the first woman ever to win the Best Film Award, couldn’t have been better timed, coming as it did on the eve of International Women’s Day.

Then on Tuesday (March 9) India passed an important milestone – the Upper House of Parliament approved a bill to reserve a third of all seats in the national parliament and state legislatures for women. The fact that there were noisy protests from opponents of the bill resulting in the suspension of 7 MPs indicates that the battle for stronger representation for women is far from over. The Bill, which was first proposed in 1996, still has to be passed by the Lower House of Parliament, though it looks as though it has enough support to win approval.

There is no doubt that women have come a long way in the last hundred years or so. According to the Independent, today in some highly paid professions such as medicine, there are more female entrants than male, because women are outranking men in academic performance. So, yes, there has been progress but how deep is this?

SOCIAL

In my years in the media I’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with many successful women and note the frustrations of others who’ve failed to make the progress they felt they deserved. The media is a particularly difficult field because it’s so highly competitive. It’s seen as glamorous and exciting and competition is fierce with men and women vying for relatively few jobs. Once you get in, it’s tough to move from one rung to the next. Besides, the work is so pressurised everyone has to give 110 per cent. Forget 9 to 5 cosy hours, there are a bewildering range of shifts and patterns with unsocial hours. Night shifts, 15 hour days, you can be on call at night on weekends, over Christmas, New Year and other public holidays.